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London John Murray, 1857. 6 volume set, 9 inches tall. A fabulous full Spanish calf with gilt raised bands, triple labels (including the volume number bottle green rondelles) and elegant gilt tooling to the panels. The boards are framed within a double fillet and corner tools. Gilt dentelles. With the binder's ticket of Willis and Sotheran. With the armorial bookplate of Edward Nicholas Hurt. A stunning set in pristine condition.

Paris: L. Curmer, 1861. Full morocco, 13.25 inches tall. An extraordinary binding by Riviere with gilt titles to the spine and both boards and extraordinary blind tooling to the panels, boards and doublures. Vellum endpapers. All edges gilt. This is the text volume, red ruled throughout, and is offered WITHOUT the Plates. In 'Fine and Historic Bookbindings from the Folger Shakespeare Library', published in 1992 a very similar binding is described and illustrated (page 222, item 14:5). It is described as 'a Pastiche of a 16th Century Panel-Stamped Binding by Riviere and Son, c.1881'.

London & Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1861. 7 volume set, 9 inches tall. A simple very handsome full calf by Zaehnsdorf with wide gilt raised bands, framed panels and a series of 6 gilt fillets framing the boards. Dentelles and top edge gilt. An ink inscription, dated 1906, on the first blank. Charles Forbes René de Montalembert wrote his great work 'Moines d'occident' in 1860 and this is the authorised English translation, published the following year. He wrote in a style at once picturesque, fiery and polished while his mastery of the Middle Ages was tempered by his religious sentiments.

Augsburg (Augustae Vindelicorum): Sumptibus ignatii adami & Francisci Antonii Veith, 1759. 6 volume set, 14.5 inches tall. Full vellum, dating from the middle of the 18th century with gilt tooled labels and unusual pink and green edges. The Codex Regularum, created in Aachen in 817, was designed by Benedict to restore the strict observation of monastic life which had been relaxed over recent centuries. Complete sets in contemporary bindings are scarce. There is some scuffing and staining to the vellum, in particular at the tails of each volume but there is no splitting and the bindings are in excellent condition. 2 bookplates. In the original Latin.

Delft et Leiden: Beman et Samuel Luchtmans, 1729. Full morocco, 8.5 inches tall. A glorious binding by Clarke & Bedford with gilt raised bands, superb gilt tooling around a pomegranate centre tool, dentelles quadruple gilt fillet framing the boards. All edges gilt over marble. Engraved frontispiece and title page. A superb copy of these dialogues on many and various subjects, hugely influential on Christian Humanists, by the greatest scholar of the northern Renaissance. In the original Latin.

La Haye (The Hague): Adrian Moetjens, 1682. 2 volumes bound in 1, 5.5 inches tall. A beautiful late 19th century full straight grain calf with raised bands, extra gilt panels and very fine and ornate gilt tooling to the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Watered silk doublures and free endpapers. From the Robert J. Hayhurst collection. In the original French.

London: Rivingtons, 1885. 2 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. A rather magnificent full calf with gilt raised bands, triple labels and extra gilt panels. The boards are framed within gilt and blind panels. Git dentelles and all edges. Prize bookplate and gilt embossed motto on the boards. The finisher has labeled volume I as volume II and vice versa. A lovely set of this celebrated history.

Oxford: University Press, 1800. Full crushed morocco, 9 inches tall. An elegant, simple binding attributed, on an ancient tipped in catalogue slip, to (Charles) Clarke. Some speckling to the boards, foxing to the preliminaries and offsetting from the plates but overall a superb copy. With raised bands, the armorial devices of the great bibliophile Theodore Williams and all edges gilt. With 7 engraved plates, 2 folding and 3 folding plates of 'Pedigrees'.

London: Cassell & Company, c.1875. Full calf, 10.5 inches tall. A most impressive 'divinity' calf binding with gilt raised bands and aldine leaf centre tools and prize block on the upper board. With typical blind tooled panels and boards and red edges. Prize bookplate on paste down endpaper. Slightly rubbed and with a little foxing to the preliminaries, otherwise in excellent condition. A well illustrated edition of this classic life of Christ.

Paris: Curmer, 1858. 2 volume set, 10.5 inches tall. A simple but pleasing mid 19th century full vellum with gilt bands, dentelles and all edges gilt. Each page decorated with wide lithographic borders. With the gilt stamp of 'Schafer of Piccadilly', purveyors of luxury items. A fine set of this classic Christian guide based on the monastic practice of devotional reading by the 'Gentleman Saint'.

London: John Murray, 1841. 3 volume set, 8.75 inches tall. A neat simple early Victorian half calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and gilt centre tools. Pink speckled edges. Bookplate and library stamp on title page (with withdrawn stamp). Foxing to the preliminaries, otherwise clean. A good looking set of this celebrated history.

Edinburgh: Oliphant, 1838. 4 volume set, 6.5 inches tall. A scarce work finely bound with gilt raised bands and extra gilt floral panels. The Bookplate of the Hayhurst Collection. A neat ink inscription on the first blank dated 1839. Each volume is embellished with an engraved frontispiece and title page.

London: Joseph Masters, 1869. Full morocco, 5 inches tall. A delightful little binding with two gilt raised bands, either end of the title and name, presumably of the original owner. There is dense and fine gilt tooling to the spine at the head and tail. The boards are framed with triple fillets and corner tools. GIlt dentelles and all edges.